Pack Goats?

mconway951

mconway951

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Joined
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Location
St Paul MN
I was on another site today....and no not MM...and saw a thread about pack goats. This guy had like 10 that he brought into the back country with him and they carried all his gear and his game out. He said they just followed him with no need to rope them together. Apptly they eat anything they can find in there so no need to bring food for them and dont need much water.

Any of you guys ever used them/ heard of them?
Any concern about using them in Bighorn country with spread of diease?
Any body ever rent them from a local?
 
I have a bow hunting friend in Billings that was getting some. He figured his kids can use the for 4H and he can use them to pack with. I figured they could be used to lure wolves in.
 
I know a guy who uses them. I haven't seen his personally but they are bigger than a normal goat. Everything you said is what he has told me about them. He said they are amazing in the blowdown timber. He packed out an elk one time and was fighting the blowdown and looked back to see his goats just walking on the logs:eek:

He likes them but I don't have any experience with them.
 
I was about to post this, say it on another site as well. Interested as well if anyone has any experience.
 
MHMT said:
I ran into this site awhile back. A guy that uses goats to carry his gear. He has a few stories, and kind of talks about the pros and cons of hunting with them.http://goathunter.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/not-what-you-think/
Click to expand...

Hey Fellas,

I'm the "goathunter" mentioned in the link above. A little over a year ago over on iFish.net, I posted a list of what it takes to get a pack string started with goats in terms of cost and equipment (http://www.ifish.net/board/showpost.php?p=3191523&postcount=48). I'm also glad to answer any questions here that you might have.

Thanks!

--MATT

Follow the Madness: http://goathunter.wordpress.com
 
mconway951 said:
Any concern about using them in Bighorn country with spread of diease?
Click to expand...

Yes, there is a concern. Currently pack goats are only banned in the Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico. There has been an attempt to ban them in the Shoshone NF since 2007. Expect this issue to be raised in the future as LRMPs are revised or updated. Although the possibility of exposure may be small, I think that most BHS advocates would agree that it's not worth the risk in occupied bighorn sheep habitat.
 
as a stock owner, I think in order to really appreciate using stock you have to like that aspect of it. Doesn't mater if it is llamas goats mules or horses, owning packstock is a year - round occupation.

I have places I've hunted where Goats might be pretty handy (better than Horses), but I don't have the desire to own and care for goats. So I just go with a backpack.

At $100 per head each way an outfitter drop camp is probably the best value for the non stock owner still.
 
I have two goats now that are about 4 months old with the goal of making them into future packers. So far they have been fairly easy to train. When we go for walks, they follow me everywhere i go. I plan on getting 3 more within the next year but Im taking small steps first to see how it goes with these two goats.

Practical Goatpacking by Carolyn Eddy is a great book regarding packgoats.
 
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